According to WEEI, the Cubs and Theo Epstein have agreed to a 5-year deal worth upwards of $15 million. But it’s not finalized (not even official, much less officially official). And they haven’t settled on a title (Grand Poobah of Baseball Operations or Crane Kenney’s Gimp Handler). And they have to settle on compensation for poaching Theo out of the last year of his contract (Brett Jackson, Bryan LaHair, or a Patterson to be named later). This is why you have to title your breaking news articles with “Report:” in front of them.

Cue half of Cubdom saying the Cubs’ World Series dreams are imminently to be fulfilled and the other half saying Theo isn’t the answer or won’t make a difference for quite some time. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Like, a finger. Having someone who knows what he’s doing in charge of all things baseball will make a difference right away. Doesn’t mean the Cubs will contend right away or even win a World Series ever. But if the reports are true, the Cubs are a better baseball organization right now than they’ve been in my lifetime.